Stuart Downey is a Dispute Resolution Partner in the TWM Will, Trust and Estate Disputes team, working out of the firm’s Guildford office. Stuart has many years’ experience in the firm’s Private Client team, including all aspects of estate and succession planning. He has particular interests in cross-border estates, inheritance tax and estate planning, complex Wills and trusts. He has dealt with UK and international individuals, including high net worth individuals, their families and trustees. He also has extensive experience dealing with elderly and vulnerable clients.
Stuart deals with all types of Trust and Estate Disputes including:
- Lack of testamentary capacity;
- Lack of due execution;
- Lack of knowledge and approval of the Will;
- Undue influence or duress;
- Fraud or forgery;
- Rectification and construction;
- Inheritance Act claims for spouses, former spouses, cohabitees, children, and financial dependents;
- Breach of Trust by Trustees;
- Breach of Fiduciary Duties.
Stuart is a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), a member of the Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a full accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), and the Law Society Private Client Section and is recommended in the current edition of the Legal 500. He is currently studying to become an Associate Member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS).
Stuart is also a Notary Public, which is an internationally recognised legal professional, with the jurisdiction to authenticate and certify the execution of documents required or intended for use abroad. A Notary Public is usually required when dealing with overseas matters, but in some instances, a Notary Public’s services may also be required for use in England & Wales. A Notary’s primary role is the preparation, validation and/or certification of documents and transactions under an official seal, in order for them to be accepted in countries outside the UK.
For the avoidance of any doubt, while Stuart Downey’s office is based at TWM Solicitors LLP, Stuart’s notarial work is undertaken through the notary business which is completely independent of TWM Solicitors LLP and is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and not by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Details of redress/insurance information, regulatory information, compliance information and pricing for Stuart’s notarial practice are available here: Terms and Conditions.
If you have any queries regarding Trusts or Estates, or if you need a document notarising, please do not hesitate to contact Stuart.
